Tuesday, December 13, 2016

DIY Needle Felted Christmas Mistletoe Decoration / Accessory

To make your own needle felted mistletoe like the one shown, you will need wool roving in suitable colours and felting needles. I use a Clover needle felting pen tool and find it very easy to handle, but you can use a plain felting needle or any tool you wish. My roving is from Ashford, locally produced in New Zealand. You can find wool roving through specialists, large craft stores, or online. My finished mistletoe was created just for decoration (you can easily pop a little
string through the piece with a needle, or push through a wire), but
this would also be very cute as a holiday accessory, such as a brooch or on a child's headband.

Tips: Needle felting is best done on a soft surface, such as a foam pad;
however, you can work with care on other surfaces if you prefer. ALWAYS
keep track of your fingers (ouch) and enter/exit straight to avoid
breaking your needle(s). Every needle action compresses and entwines the wool fibers, slowly turning the loose wool into firm felt. Don't
be intimidated - felting is as simple as repeating that action over and
over. It just takes time, patience, and attention to detail. Peppy
music is a fun addition and this is very cathartic crafting if you are
feeling a bit "stabby". :) Create your mistletoe leaves, stem(s), and berries as detailed below below. To assemble, build a
base layer of leaves/stem(s), add your berries, add any additional
leaves curving over the tops, and (if you wish) create a little extra
definition by felting vein lines into the leaves.

To make a basic needle felted leaf: Start with a small amount of roving, squeeze it into a flat ovalish blob...yes, very technical...hehe... (I like to roll, fold, then squeeze). Needle
the wool, taking care as noted above, working from all sides and turning
periodically to ensure that you are pushing the needle in from all
around the leaf. To help keep the leaf flatter, work more up/down than side-to-side. To help shape your leaf, work more along the sides to push it into shape, and much less directly top or bottom which will push your ends in and round the shape. Work in additional wool roving at anytime
to enlarge, if needed. Once you are happy with the size and firmness, you're done.

To make a stem: Start with a small amount of roving, roll it, then fold the roll into a very rough ball/log. Needle
the wool, taking care as noted above, turning
periodically to ensure that you are pushing the needle in from all
around the piece. Work more along the sides (all angles for a round stem) to push it into
shape, and less directly top or bottom which will push your ends in and compress
the length. Wrap around additional wool roving at anytime
to enlarge, if needed. Once you are happy with the size and firmness, you're done.

To make a needle felted ball (berry): Start with a small amount of roving and squeeze it into a very rough ball (I like to roll, fold, then squeeze). Needle the wool, taking care as noted above, turning periodically to ensure that you are pushing the needle in from all around the ball. Once you are happy with the size and firmness, you're done.

To join two (or more) pieces together: Position them together as you wish them to look in the finished piece. Place a small amount of additional wool under the joint and needle until securely felted together.

To add the accents to the berries: After assembly, roll a very tiny little ball of roving and needle in place. If you are using a multi-pen tool, change to a single needle for small detail work. For a little extra style, you can use your needle to compress the middle and create a small indentation in the accent.

To add veins to the leaves: After assembly, simply needle (single needle) firmly up and down along the vein line. Remember to enter/exit straight (stab don't pull) to avoid breaking your needle. If you prefer instead of just compressing the veins, you can felt in a teeny strip of different coloured roving along the vein lines.

We're on a special holiday posting schedule this month, with a
Christmas share for you ever weekday between now and the start of our
offline holidays, with DIY decorations, wrapping, treats, and more.
Yay! Stay tuned for more!

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